Switch-operator.



' J. ANDERSON. swmn OPERATOR. APPLICATION IILED'MAR. 28, 1908.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908:

five aria; 72

THE NORRIS PETERS co-, wuumarun, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ANDERSON, OF LEXINGTON, MISSOURI.

SWITCH-OPERATOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lexington, in the county of Lafayette and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch-Operators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in switch operators; and is especially adapted for operating the switches of street railways.

My object is to provide means for throwing switches open or closed, so that the motorman need not alight from his car to perform these operations.

A further object is to provide means for operating switches without the use of electrical appliances of any description.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 represents a plan view of a switch provided with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a broken section of the same on line IIII of Fig. 1, with a car provided with a tripping device employed in carrying out the invention. Fig. 3 is a broken side elevation of a primary lever employed in carrying out the invention.

1 designates a straight track and 2 a curved track, communicating with each other.

3 designates a switch-point which permits the car 1 to pass around the curve when said point is thrown open.

5 designates a slot which parallels one of the curved rails and a portion of one of the straight rails of the tracks, as shown in Fig. 1. Said slot is made very narrow so that buggy wheels and the like cannot enter the same.

6 designates a trip-arm suspended beneath the car and adapted to enter slot 5 for a purpose hereinafter described. Said trip-arm 1s slidably secured by a pin-andslot connection 8 to a bracket 9 depending from the underside of thecar. Arm 6 is lowered into the slot and raised therefrom by a lever 10 connected by a link 11 to a foot-lever 12, which latter is arranged conveniently to the motor-man. Lever 10 is fulcrimied upon a pin 13 carried by a bracket 14, depending from the underside of the car. Lever 12 is fulcrumed upon a pin 15, and when its free end is depressed to raise the trip-arm 6 from slot 5, said free end is engaged by a spring actuated latch 16 which holds said free end depressed until freed by the motorman.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 28, 1908.

Patented Nov. 1'7, 1908.

Serial No. 423,961.

17 18 designate two primary levers arranged at opposite sides of the switch-point 3 near the terminals of slot 5. The free ends of said levers intersect said slot, as shown in Fig. 1. Lever 17 is fulcrunied upon a pin 19 and connected to the switch-point 3 by means of a resilient connectingrod 20, a bell-crank lever 21, and a link 22. With this arrangement it is obvious that when the car is passing in the direction of arrow a arm 6 will contact with the free end of lever 17 and push the same out of its path, thereby causing said lever, through the instrumentality of its connecting parts, to throw the switchpoint open so that the car may enter upon the curved track 2.

The free end of lever 18 is connected to the switch-point 3 by a cable 23 which passes around guide-sheaves 24, and is provided with a retractile spring 25 which permits lever 18 to continue to move after the switchpoint 3 has been closed. Although this cable intersects the slot near the switch-point it is arranged far enough below the end of triparm 6 to prevent the same from contacting therewith.

Lever 18 is provided near its free end with an upturned lug 26, which is brought into coincidence with the slot when the free end of lever 18 is swung backward by the opening of the switch-point 3, hence when the car is passing around the curve, trip-arm 6 will contact with lug 26 and push the lever forward until the lug passes out of the path of said trip-arm. When the lever moves forward, as above described, it will close the switch-point through the instrumentality of the cable 23.

When the switch-point is located in the street of a city, levers 17 and 18 and the means connecting the same to the switchpoint, are arranged in recesses 27 and 28, respectively, which may be covered with the same kind of material employed in paving the street. hen the apparatus is located in outlying districts, the mechanism above described, may be left uncovered and the slot 5 may be dispensed with. I also reserve the right to make such other changes as properly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In combination with a straight and a curved track, with a slot formed in the roadbed along a part of said tracks, a switch point, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends so as to have one of its ends project in said slot, a bell crank lever connected to said switch point, a resilient connecting rod between said bell crank lever and the inner end of said first named lever, a second pivoted lever having its free end extending across said slot at a point along the curved track, a flexible connection between the outer end of said second lever and said switch point, and an upturned lug on said second lever designed when said switch point is in open position to enter said slot, and when said switch point is in closed position to move out of said slot.

2. In combination with a straight and a curved track, a switch point, a pair of primary levers on opposite sides of the switch point to operate the latter, lever en gaging means on the car, and an element carried by one of said levers designed in one position of said switch point to be engaged by said throwing means, and in another position of the switch point to be out of alinement with said throwing means.

3.. In combination with a straight and a curved track, and a switch point, a pair of horizontal levers pivoted on opposite sides of said switch point, one extending across the straight track and the other across the curved track, means connecting the inner end of one of the levers with one side of the switch point, and means connecting the outer end of the other lever with the other side of the switch point, lever engaging means on 3 the car, and a vertical part adjacent the free end of said second lever designed in one position to engage said car lever engaging means and in a second position to be out of alineinent therewith.

4. In combination with a straight and a curved track and a switch point, a pair of horizontal levers on opposite sides of said switch point, a bell crank lever connected to one side of said switch point, a resilient connection between said bell crank and the inner end of one of said levers, a flexible connection between the outer end of the other of said levers and the opposite side of said switch point, and guiding means for said flexible connection.

5. In combination with a straight and a curved track, a switch point, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends so as to have one of its ends project beyond the straight track, a bell crank lever connected to said switch point, a resilient connecting rod between said bell crank lever and the inner end of said first named lever, a second pivoted lever having its free end extending beyond the curved track, a flexible connection between the outer end of said second lever and said switch point, and an upturned lug on said Second lever.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ANDERSON. lVitnesses 1 O. R. SELLERS, CnAs. WV. Looms. 

